Adolescent Health Literacy and Learning offers insights to all those who care about promoting and assisting adolescent health development: health education teachers, health practitioners, and youth care workers. Adolescent health is of worldwide concern, especially as we learn that health habits and attitudes established in adolescence continue into adulthood. For example, chronic diseases such as diabetes that began in mid to late adulthood are becoming more prevalent in younger ages. Academics, clinicians and teachers are searching for ways to raise the health literacy and health outcomes of adolescents to better prepare them for the future. There is a need to raise the profile of adolescent health literacy and learning in order to address issues in adolescent and adult health. This edited volume features expert Canadian health literacy scholars writing on topics such as digital technology, software applications to health promotion, advertising, gender, suicide, nutrition, fitness, and mental health specifically for adolescents. It contains theoretical and practical ideas as well as resources for practitioners and educators to assist adolescents with interacting more critically with health information. The hope is that this book will help young people grow into adults who are more health literate. All contributing authors are experts in adolescent health literacy. Many take a uniquely Canadian perspective as well. They all acknowledge the impact of a variety of individuals and groups on adolescents, but also encourage the development of an adolescent's sense of individual identity, critical thinking, social responsibility and even activism as part of their health literacy.

Each day, the safety and well-being of some children is threatened by child abuse and neglect. Intervening effectively in the lives of these children and their families is not the sole responsibility of any single agency or professional group, but rather is a shared community concern. In the area of neglect, both the field and the community increasingly recognize the impact of many factors such as poverty, unemployment, and housing, as well as individual and family characteristics. This book delves deeper into the root causes, symptoms, and consequences of neglect, as well as the interdisciplinary ways to prevent both its occurrence and recurrence. This book also reviews definitions and strategies for assessing neglect, presents lessons learned about prevention and intervention, and suggests sources of training and informational support. Strategies for addressing neglect, beginning with prevention, are included.

All 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Territories have child abuse and neglect reporting laws that mandate certain professionals and institutions to report suspected maltreatment to a child protective services (CPS) agency. Most states recognise four major types of maltreatment: neglect, physical abuse, psychological maltreatment, and sexual abuse. Although any of the forms of child maltreatment may be found separately, they can occur in combination. This book provides data collected on child maltreatment from 2013; and discusses statutes identifying persons who are required to report suspected child maltreatment to an appropriate agency, such as child protective services, a law enforcement agency, or a State's toll-free child abuse reporting hotline.

This collection of 12 new and revised essays on child care and children's services, written by leading child welfare historian Roy Parker, draws on his lifetime of research in this area. By exploring various topics these essays explain significant political, economic, legal and ideological aspects of this history from the mid-1850s. This unique and lasting review of child care services allows readers to understand how the services for some of society's most vulnerable children have become what they are, how well they have met and now meet the needs of those children. The collection provides a high-quality, historical reference resource that will inform and capture the interest of social work and social policy students as well as social and legal historians, political scientists and those involved in administration and government, struggling with the issues of the day.

In 1554, a group of idealistic laywomen founded a home for homeless and orphaned adolescent girls in one of the worst neighborhoods in Florence. Of the 526 girls who lived in the home during its fourteen-year tenure, only 202 left there alive. Struck by the unusually high mortality rate, Nicholas Terpstra sets out to determine what killed the lost girls of the House of Compassion shelter (Casa della Pieta).

Reaching deep into the archives' letters, ledgers, and records from both inside and outside the home, he slowly pieces together the tragic story. The Casa welcomed girls in bad health and with little future, hoping to save them from an almost certain life of poverty and drudgery. Yet this "safe" house was cruelly dangerous. Victims of Renaissance Florence's sexual politics, these young women were at the disposal of the city's elite men, who treated them as property meant for their personal pleasure.

With scholarly precision and journalistic style, Terpstra uncovers and chronicles a series of disturbing leads that point to possible reasons so many girls died: hints of routine abortions, basic medical care for sexually transmitted diseases, and appalling conditions in the textile factories where the girls worked.

Church authorities eventually took the Casa della Pieta away from the women who had founded it and moved it to a better part of Florence. Its sordid past was hidden, until now, in an official history that bore little resemblance to the orphanage's true origins. Terpstra's meticulous investigation not only uncovers the sad fate of the lost girls of the Casa della Pieta but also explores broader themes, including gender relations, public health, church politics, and the challenges girls and adolescent women faced in Renaissance Florence.

Congress has maintained an interest in the effects of gang violence in Central America, and on the expanding activities of transnational gangs with ties to that region operating in the United States. Since FY2008, Congress has appropriated significant amounts of funding for anti-gang efforts in Central America, as well as domestic anti-gang programs. This book examines the U.S.- funded international anti-gang efforts and describes the gang problem in Central America; discusses country approaches to deal with the gangs; and analyses U.S. policy with respect to gangs in Central America. The book discusses how unaccompanied alien children are treated in comparison to unauthorized adults and families with children in the specific contexts of asylum and expedited removal.

Clinicians who understand mental health care administration in addition to their clinical fields are likely to be valuable to the organizations in which they work. This handbook is an accessible source of information for professionals coming from either clinical or management backgrounds. Sections offer coverage in: mental health administrative principles, mental health care management, business, finance and funding of care, information technology, human resources and legal issues.

Current statistics on child abuse, neglect, poverty, and hunger shock the conscience-doubly so as societal structures set up to assist families are failing them. More than ever, the responsibility of the helping professions extends from aiding individuals and families to securing social justice for the larger community. With this duty in clear sight, the contributors to Child and Family Advocacy assert that advocacy is neither a dying art nor a lost cause but a vital platform for improving children's lives beyond the scope of clinical practice. This uniquely practical reference builds an ethical foundation that defines advocacy as a professional competency and identifies skills that clinicians and researchers can use in advocating at the local, state and federal levels. Models of the advocacy process coupled with first-person narratives demonstrate how professionals across disciplines can lobby for change. Among the topics discussed: Promoting children's mental health: collaboration and public understanding. Health reform as a bridge to health equity. Preventing child maltreatment: early intervention and public education Changing juvenile justice practice and policy. A multi-level framework for local policy development and implementation. When evidence and values collide: preventing sexually transmitted infections. Lessons from the legislative history of federal special education law. Child and Family Advocacy is an essential resource for researchers, professionals and graduate students in clinical child and school psychology, family studies, public health, developmental psychology, social work and social policy.

Professional practice is at the heart of youth work training but integrating the theory learned in class with the reality of placements can sometimes require extra support. This comprehensive textbook is designed to help students working with young people become competent and ethical practitioners, able to reflect on their learning and interventions in young people s lives.

Divided into three parts, this core text:

• provides an understanding of and commitment to the "principles" of youth work
• explores how "contexts" shape youth work
• demonstrates the core "practice" skills that are required to make a meaningful impact on the lives of young people.

Engaging and practice-driven, this is an essential text for all students learning about working with young people, whether on youth work or allied courses. It includes case-studies, tasks, further reading and reflective questions to help readers make connections between their own knowledge and practice."

Research findings showed that secondary school students in Hong Kong face many challenges. In particular, morbid emphasis on academic excellence has created much competition and stress in high school students. It was estimated that around one-fifth of secondary school students in Hong Kong had different forms of mental disorders. In a three-year longitudinal study, it was found that the prevalence rates of Internet addiction in Secondary 1, Secondary 2 and Secondary 3 students were 26.4%, 26.6% and 22.5%, respectively. In the same study, suicidal ideation in junior secondary school students was found in more than one-tenth of the students. At the same time, there were more than two-tenths of students showing signs of self-harm and suicidal behaviour in junior secondary years. The number of adolescents experiencing economic disadvantage has increased while family solidarity has dropped in recent years. In spite of these adolescent developmental issues, the lack of life education and life skills training in secondary school students has made the situation worse. Although moral and civic education is one of the pillars in the new 6-year secondary school curriculum, there are several problems involved. First, the coverage on social and emotional learning in the curriculum guide is very thin. Second, although there are curricula materials on life skills training in the field, validated curricula are almost non-existent. In fact, in a review of adolescent prevention and positive youth development programs in Asia, Shek and Yu pointed out that there were very few validated evidence-based programs in Hong Kong. Third, training in social-emotional learning and adolescent prevention programs is grossly inadequate in Hong Kong. Finally, while nobody would dispute the importance of life skills and psychosocial competence, such topics are seldom taught in depth in the school contexts.

William Seraile uncovers the history of the colored orphan asylum, founded in New York City in 1836 as the nation's first orphanage for African American children. It is a remarkable institution that is still in the forefront aiding children. Although no longer an orphanage, in its current incarnation as Harlem-Dowling West Side Center for Children and Family Services it maintains the principles of the women who organized it nearly 200 years ago. The agency weathered three wars, two major financial panics, a devastating fire during the 1863 Draft Riots, several epidemics, waves of racial prejudice, and severe financial difficulties to care for orphaned, neglected, and delinquent children. Eventually financial support would come from some of New York's finest families, including the Jays, Murrays, Roosevelts, Macys, and Astors. While the white female managers and their male advisers were dedicated to uplifting these black children, the evangelical, mainly Quaker founding managers also exhibited the extreme paternalistic views endemic at the time, accepting the advice or support of the African American community only grudgingly. It was frank criticism in 1913 from W. E. B. Du Bois that highlighted the conflict between the orphanage and the community it served, and it wasn't until 1939 that it hired the first black trustee. More than 15,000 children were raised in the orphanage, and throughout its history letters and visits have revealed that hundreds if not thousands of "old boys and girls" looked back with admiration and respect at the home that nurtured them throughout their formative years. Weaving together African American history with a unique history of New York City, this is not only a painstaking study of a previously unsung institution of black history but a unique window onto complex racial dynamics during a period when many failed to recognize equality among all citizens as a worthy purpose.

We are facing one of the most significant challenges to the future of America's children that we have ever known. Our children are experiencing and witnessing violence on an alarming scale. This exposure to violence is not limited to one community or one group of children. It occurs among all ethnic and racial groups; in urban, suburban, and rural areas; in gated communities and on tribal lands. Advances in neuroscience and child development have taught us that the trauma children experience when they are exposed to physical, sexual, and emotional violence harms their ability to mature cognitively and emotionally, and it scars them physically and emotionally well into their adult lives. We pay astronomical costs to the healthcare, child welfare, justice and other systems because we have not yet done what we know works to prevent and treat childhood exposure to violence. This book focuses on protecting children from exposure to violence and to healing those who were exposed, and calls for action by the federal government, states, tribes, communities and the private sector.

In this book, the authors present topical research in the study of the current issues, practices and challenges related to child welfare today. Topics include mental health oversight for children and adolescents in child welfare custody; children in foster care and excessive medications; youth sexuality and health conditions; secondary traumatic stress in child welfare professionals; transforming mental health practices in child-serving systems; educational vulnerability of children and youth in foster care; developing a child welfare and child protection system in China; and mindfulness training for addressing the needs of child welfare system children and families.

Child welfare services are intended to prevent the abuse or neglect of children; ensure that children have safe, permanent homes; and promote the well-being of children and their families. The largest amount of federal child welfare funding is provided to states for assistance to children who have been removed from their homes (due primarily to abuse or neglect). In the past decade, the share of this support provided for children who remain in foster care has been on the decline, while the share provided for those who leave foster care for permanent homes (e.g., via adoption) has increased. This book examines recent and proposed federal funding issues for child welfare with a focus on services authorised under Title IV-B of the Social Security Act, and The Child and Family Services Improvement and Innovation Act (P.L.112-34).

Approximately 662,000 children spend some time in foster care each year. Most enter care because they have experienced neglect or abuse by their parents. Between 35% and 60% of children entering foster care have at least one chronic or acute physical health condition that needs treatment. As many as one-half to three-fourths show behavioural or social competency problems that may warrant mental health services and substance abuse counselling. As many as 24,000 (about 6%) receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or other Social Security benefits. Some research suggests that a greater number of children in foster care might be eligible for SSI benefits if this assistance was sought. This book examines the health care needs and social security benefit issues facing children in the foster care system with a focus on medicaid benefits; private health insurance reforms; and possible legislative changes.

Emotional difficulties in children aged 5-11 can display themselves in a range of different behaviours, and it is important for staff in schools to be able to identify and address these problems, and to provide appropriate help. This easy-to-use tool provides an observation checklist which enables staff to identify behavioural patterns in children with social and emotional difficulties, analyse the emotional difficulties underlying these behaviours and establish what kind of help and support the children need. Behavioural responses are categorised within clearly outlined topics, including behaviour, play and relationship with peers, attachment behaviours, emotional state in the classroom and attitude to attendance. Checklists and diagrams identify different 'styles' of relating (secure, avoidant, ambivalent), to help school staff who work with children and their families to respond appropriately to the individual needs of each child. A range of handouts include activities designed to provide emotional support, to focus and regulate behaviour and enable the child to develop important social and emotional skills. Suitable for use with children aged 5-11, this tool will be an invaluable resource for teachers, teaching assistants, learning support staff, school counsellors and educational psychologists.

This book presents background and analyses on a variety of children's issues, including the laws and programs which respond to these issues. Topics discussed herein include early childhood care and education programs; child welfare funding; the child care and development block grant; custody rights in the Abbott case; pre-existing exclusion provisions for children in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

In 1999, the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, undertook the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) to learn about children and families coming in contact with the child welfare system (CWS). The sample, which represents the population of children and families that entered the CWS within a 15 month period, comprises 5,501 children (aged 0 to 14 years) from 92 child welfare agencies nation-wide. The NSCAW gathers information about children's safety, living-situation permanency, well-being, and services after a maltreatment investigation by child protective services. This book provides information about 962 children who were infants when they first became involved in investigations for child abuse or neglect and whose caregivers participated at the 5- to 6-year follow-up.

Leadership in the early years is about using your knowledge, skills, personality and experience to positively influence practice. Every practitioner has the capacity to lead, and in doing so, improve opportunities for children and their families. Examining the various roles of early years practitioners, and the everyday challenges and opportunities they face, this book promotes leadership of early childhood practice by considering the following; * Who the leaders are, and what skills they require * The variety of ways a practitioner can lead within a setting * Key roles including the team leader and the key person * How to develop a culture of leadership * The importance of working with families and other professionals * Improving leading through reflective practice. Whether you are a room leader in an early childhood setting needing support in your leadership skills, a manager of an early childhood business, a leader of a nursery, a leader of practice or studying to become an early years practitioner this book is ideal for helping you improve your leadership skills.

This book explores the development and implementation of Child First as an innovative guiding principle for improving youth justice systems. Applying contemporary research understandings of what leads to positive child outcomes and safer communities, Child First challenges traditional risk-led and stigmatising approaches to working with children in trouble. It has now been adopted as the four-point guiding principle for all policy and practice across the youth justice system in England and Wales, it is becoming a key reform principle for youth justice in Northern Ireland, and it is increasingly influential across several western jurisdictions. With contributions from academics, policymakers and practitioners, this book critically charts the progress and challenges in establishing a progressive evidence-led youth justice system. Its dynamic and accessible integration of theory, research, policy and practice, alongside discussion of critical themes, makes it a key read for students on youth crime/justice modules and for a wider market. Stephen Case is Professor of Youth Justice in the Criminology, Sociology and Social Policy division at Loughborough University, UK. Neal Hazel is Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice in the School of Health and Society at the University of Salford, UK.

The sexual abuse and exploitation of children rob the victims of their childhood, irrevocably interfering with their emotional and psychological development. Ensuring that all children come of age without being disturbed by sexual trauma or exploitation is more than a criminal justice issue, it is a societal issue. Despite efforts to date, the threat of child sexual exploitation remains very real, whether it takes place in the home, on the street, over the Internet or in a foreign land. Because the sexual abuse and exploitation of children strikes at the very foundation of our society, it will take our entire society to combat this affront to the public welfare. This authors of this book examine the nature of the child exploitation problem and the significant efforts being undertaken by federal, state and local agencies to address this epidemic.

This book presents a synthesis of major studies on child exploitation and an annotated bibliography. Topics discussed in this compilation include: Internet crimes against children; the role of the family and caregivers in preventing children from becoming victims of sexual abuse; the incidence of sexual solicitation according to demographics and social characteristics and the role that law enforcement can play in prosecuting predators and evaluating the effectiveness of their investigations.

Written by experienced practitioners and academics, this is a core text about the practice of residential child care. It takes as its starting point the fact that residential child care involves workers and children sharing a common lifespace, in which the quality of interpersonal relationships is key. Each chapter highlights relevant policy guidance and is developed around a practice scenario, discussing key knowledge skills and values relating to its theme. This highly practical book should, therefore, be of value to a range of students at different academic levels, from VQ to Masters, and to practitioners and managers in residential child care. The book draws on ideas from child and youth care and social pedagogic traditions and will appeal to a North American child and youth care audience while also providing a valuable addition to the emerging literature around social pedagogy in the UK.

Innovative Interventions in Child and Adolescent Mental Health is a unique composite of the literature on various innovative interventions for children and adolescents, and provides a developmental and neurobiological rationale for utilizing innovative interventions with this population. Based on the latest research, this book emphasizes that children and adolescents need more than just talk therapy. These innovative interventions can be applied in a variety of practice settings including schools, juvenile justice, community-based counseling centers, and residential treatment. This book bridges the gap between theory and practice, and provides a historical, theoretical, and research-based rationale, as well as a helpful case study, for each type of intervention being discussed.